Another Tragedy Causes Ford to Close Plants

Even when you think you’re buying American, it seems your car might still be coming from overseas. That’s what Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) told the country Monday when it announced it will be idling several of its factories in an effort to conserve materials, as Japan’s (WEWJ) earthquake disrupted the supply coming from Taiwan, where Ford has a plant that manufactures Ford Escape, Ford Focus, and Mazda 3. Its plant in Taiwan, as well as its South African assembly plant and its joint-venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile facility, will be closed for two weeks. Ford is in good company, with most automakers idling plants amid concerns that Japanese auto suppliers, still hindered by rolling blackouts, will not be able to meet demand.

This news comes on the heels of Toyota (NYSE:TM), last year’s top-selling automaker, announcing that production in March 2011 plummeted 62.7% as a result of the quake and resulting tsunami in Japan (NYSE:EWJ).